FedEx Ground Economy is a cost-effective shipping service offered by FedEx. In this blog, we will learn more about how it is structured and run and how it differs from FedEx Ground.
FedEx Ground Economy, formerly known as FedEx SmartPost, is a cost-effective shipping service mainly used by small and medium-sized businesses to save on shipping costs.
Before its rebranding, FedEx SmartPost was a collaborative service between FedEx and the Postal Service. Under this arrangement, FedEx would perform initial shipping and then hand over the packages to USPS for the final leg of delivery, known as the last mile.
However, there were widespread complaints about delayed delivery times associated with FedEx SmartPost. To address this issue, FedEx rebranded the service as FedEx Ground Economy, which involved bringing the last-mile delivery operations in-house by leveraging the extensive FedEx Ground networks.
FedEx Ground Economy suits lightweight, low-value, and non-urgent outbound residential deliveries and returns. One advantage of this service is that it typically has fewer or no additional charges than standard FedEx services. For instance, small packages shipped through standard services may incur surcharges like the Home Delivery Surcharge, while FedEx Ground Economy generally lacks such additional fees.
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FedEx Ground Economy |
FedEx Ground |
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Delivery Days |
Monday - Sunday |
Monday - Friday |
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Estimated Delivery Time |
2-7 business days |
1-5 business days |
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Delivery Area |
All residential addresses throughout the U.S. |
All business addresses throughout the U.S. |
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Package Size Limitations |
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Contractual? |
Yes |
No |
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Shipment Tracking |
Included FedEx Ground Economy tracking) |
Included (FedEx Ground tracking) |
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Money-Back Guarantee |
Suspended (at time of writing. Check current status here.) |
Suspended (at time of writing. Check current status here.) |
Want to compare FedEx Ground and FedEx Ground Economy costs? Check out FedEx Ground Economy rates and FedEx Ground rates.
FedEx Ground typically delivers packages within 1-5 business days, whereas FedEx Ground Economy has a longer estimated delivery time of 2-7 business days. This means FedEx Ground is faster than FedEx Ground Economy by 1 to 2 days.
However, for both services, you anticipate longer shipping times for deliveries outside the contiguous 48 states. For instance, FedEx Ground takes 3–7 days to deliver to Alaska and Hawaii.
The exact delivery times may vary based on factors such as shipping distance, transit delays, and other operational considerations.
The estimated delivery time for FedEx Ground Economy is typically between 2 to 7 business days.
Most FedEx Ground Economy packages are transported and delivered by FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation specializing in ground-based package transportation and delivery services.
However, deliveries to certain destinations, such as P.O. Box addresses, U.S. territories, and Military Mail, may be done through the United States Postal Service (USPS).
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